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7 strings: what gauge are you guys using for the low B?

I'm considering getting back into playing 7 strings again. Style will be progressive metal, tuning will be standard. I'm not looking to get some obscure custom build or a multi-scale guitar, I'm wary of stuff that might be tough to sell if it came to it.

I had a 7-string a while ago, a Carvin, but I could never get the low B sounding right. I don't think I use excessive force when picking, but it seemed slightly floppy and would always initially ring slightly sharp unless I went up into the .60s in terms of gauge, which made it feel kind of unbalanced with 10s. Even getting the low B in tune on its own in the first place was troublesome. The Carvins are 25.5" scale.

The two options I'm looking at are:

1) Another 25.5" and hope I won't run into the same problem. I'm considering a Suhr 7-string, the standard options really appeal to me, but I'm concerned about getting a slightly floppy B again. It will also be virtually impossible to try one of these beforehand.

2) Getting a 26.5" scale like a Schecter or Ibanez RGD to tighten up the low B. I'm just concerned about the increased tension on all the other strings. I'm also a bit wary of the EMGs in the Schecters, I'm used to passives. But I'll be able to try out both the Schecter and Ibanez options fairly soon.

Have any of you guys experienced a similar problem on 25.5" seven strings and managed to find a satisfactory gauge? The Carvin I had seemed well made, but I've never owned another 7-string so have nothing to compare it to.

I use a .56 with 9's on my Ibanez RG7 and never have the feeling that it is floppy. I used to play .60 in the days that I used 11's so I think .58 or so will work fine with 10's

In the beginning there was the classical, manual driven guitar soon followed by the steam driven guitar. Finally that evolved to the electrical guitar we know nowadays, so complicated it needs a guitarist to operate it